The summer can get extremely hot in Payson, so how in the world is your home’s air conditioner freezing over? It seems to make no sense. You may not even realize it’s occurring. How will you determine if your air conditioner is frozen? It may seem like a ridiculous question, but you typically won’t actually see the ice except in extreme cases. Here are symptoms to watch for that indicate you could have a frozen AC system that could require air conditioning service:
- Warm air is coming out of your registers while the air conditioner is running.
- Water is leaking from or collecting under your air conditioner.
When we say your air conditioner is frozen, what’s actually frozen is the evaporator coil, which transports heat out of your home to keep it cool. There are two main explanations that an evaporator coil may freeze; one is a refrigerant leak and the other reason is a blockage of airflow.
If your air conditioner has a refrigerant leak, you will want to discuss with your North Mechanical Heating and Cooling technician during your air conditioning service appointment to understand if you will benefit more from repairing or replacing your air conditioner. We can help you assess the pros and cons using information such as the age of your air conditioner and its service history, among other things.
If your air conditioner has frozen as a result of an airflow blockage, it’s because there isn’t sufficient air passing over the evaporator coil to dry the condensation that acquires on it—then it freezes. Air flow blockages are commonly caused by dirty air filters or even dirty cooling fins. These problems can be fixed (and avoided!) by a routine air conditioner service appointment. At these service sessions, your technician will clean your system, replace your air filters and confirm everything is running as it should with no potential problems on the horizon. It’s also a good idea to mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone to check your air filters often and change the filters when they are dirty. Always check that furniture, curtains and other household items aren’t blocking your registers, as even this could cause a large airflow problem and the ensuing freezing problems.
If your air conditioner freezes, turn it off using your thermostat and call the pros at North Mechanical Heating and Cooling to schedule an air conditioning service appointment. We’ll help you identify the problem and have your home back to cool and comfortable as soon as possible. Call us at 928-263-8570 to book an appointment with us.